Following the success of this year’s Fortress Festival, next year’s event has been announced as to take place over the weekend of 31 May – 1 June 2025 at Scarborough Spa, with the surprise revelation that the first band to be revealed as appearing, is Agalloch.
The Fortress Festival will be Agalloch’s first in the UK since the band’s reformation, the last time they appeared live in the country being 2015, what’s more it will be the band’s only European show for 2025.
Following a seven-year hiatus, Agalloch announced their return to live shows in 2023. Since their 1999 debut album, the band’s discography has defined what it means to combine influences from a variety of musical genres into one brooding, colossal, and cinematic sound that provides the soundtrack to existential themes concerning life, nature, loss, and death. One of the first to combine elements from black metal, neo-folk, progressive rock, post-rock, and ambient music, Agalloch has influenced countless of bands in black metal and beyond.
Regarding their exclusive performance at Fortress Festival, Agalloch said: “We have not played England since 2015 and have no dates in Europe for 2024. This is why we are so excited to make our return to England at Fortress Festival 2025 in Scarborough. This will be an exclusive European show for 2025 and we will make it a special one! Thank you Fortress for inviting us and we look forward to meeting all of you in the near future!”
Gary Stephenson, Fortress Festival organiser and Reaper Agency UK founder, said: “There was only one option for a headline act at Fortress 2025. We are really excited to tell you that Agalloch will finally return to the UK after 10 long years to headline the 2025 edition of Fortress Festival. This will be a very special performance from the band and one that will be a full-year exclusive for Europe. Fortress is the new kid on the block so we are honoured that the band have chosen this event to make their long-awaited return.
“This is the only band we can tell you about for now whilst the first release of early tickets goes live. But rest assured we have already been working on this line-up for many months and we are confident that the 2025 edition of Fortress will be mind-bendingly good for you all. We will try not to make you wait long until we release more band announcements… A new stronghold has arisen!”
The first early bird tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here.
